Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Vegas Play of the Day: Denver Nuggets at Sacramento Kings

Sacramento Kings Phoenix Suns basketball

Matt York / AP Photo

Sacramento Kings forward Carl Landry, left, has the ball knocked away by Phoenix Suns forward Markieff Morris (11) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Nov. 7, 2014, in Phoenix.

It was hard to settle on a side for today’s South Point-lined Play of the Day.

The NBA betting board is chock full of opportunities. Cleveland plus-12.5, Washington minus-1 and New Orleans minus-1 all caught my eye until I decided to go more off the beaten path with my $10,000 starting bankroll.

Denver Nuggets plus-4.5 at Sacramento Kings: $330 to win $300

There’s a reason the Kings hadn’t covered in 10 straight games before Wednesday’s shocking 21-point smackdown of the Thunder. They’re overvalued.

Sacramento was on pace to have a better season than expected at the beginning of the year, but it has regressed toward what everyone predicted in the last three weeks. The Kings have never recovered from the inexplicable firing of coach Mike Malone in mid December.

They’re 4-7 straight-up, 1-8-2 against the spread under interim coach Tyrone Corbin, whom bettors should be used to be fading by now. Corbin’s Jazz finished 10 games below .500 against the spread last season.

The Nuggets are on the opposite path. They started the season as one of the worst teams in the league but have played average over the last couple months.

The Kings beat them in a pair of meetings earlier in the season, but the Nuggets are improved. They’re on a three-game win streak that has pushed them above the Kings in efficiency differential.

Ty Lawson is on a tear, ranking second in the NBA in assists and chipping in more than 20 points in three of the Nuggets’ last four games. The Kings aren’t the team to stop him.

Sacramento has no business laying more than three points against a team that’s at worst its equal.

Standings: Bern (61-52-1, $11,526), Keefer (58-60-2, $9,527), Brewer (55-60-3, $5,855)

Case Keefer can be reached at 948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.

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